South Africa and Tonga played out a bruising Test match in Pool B on Sunday, before the players came together after the final whistle in a touching moment of sportsmanship.
The ‘Boks ended up 49-18 winners but the game was a lot tougher than it may seem. The Tongans kept the world champions on their toes for the full 80 and weren’t shy of the challenge.
In a quite rare occurrence in rugby, the teams gathered together in a circle after the match and held on to each other.
They then knelt down whilst remaining arm-in-arm, praying together while music rang around the stadium. Eben Etzebeth can be seen holding Tongan replacement Sonatane Takula as they bow their heads in a special moment.
You can watch the video below.
The video has been doing the rounds on social media since the game finished on Sunday evening. On TikTok and Instagram alone the clip has racked up almost 1.5 million views at the time of writing. That figure is likely to skyrocket on Monday.
Rugby fans have been loving this moment.
“This is why rugby is the greatest sport. They fight for 80 mins, but still have a huge amount of respect for each other.” said one.
“This is why I love rugby. No other sport in the world compares!” said another.
The result means that South Africa go top of Pool B and are a point clear of Ireland, but Andy Farrell’s team have played a game less. You can read what result Ireland, South Africa and Scotland need from the final match here.
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